Junglee Pictures

Indian film production and distribution company established in 2014

  • Amrita Pandey (CEO)[1]
  • Priti Shahani (Former President)[2]
ProductsFilmsServicesFilm production and distribution

Junglee Pictures is a film production and distribution company that was established by Vineet Jain of The Times Group in 2014. As of 2022, the company has produced nine Hindi films.

Their first release came out in 2015 with Zoya Akhtar's family drama Dil Dhadakne Do, and in the same year, they produced Meghna Gulzar's crime drama Talvar, which won two National Film Awards.

Junglee Pictures went on to collaborate with the actor Ayushmann Khurrana in three films, the romantic comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), the comedy-drama Badhaai Ho (2018), and campus medical comedy film, Doctor G (2022). Badhaai Ho (2018) became the company's highest-grossing release. They also reunited with Gulzar in the Alia Bhatt-starring spy film Raazi (2018), which ranks among the highest-grossing female-led Hindi films.

History

Before Junglee Pictures, The Times Group was already involved into film production and distribution through Times Infotainment Media Limited. Their first feature film was Being Cyrus (2005), an Indian English-language drama directed by Homi Adajania and starring Saif Ali Khan and Naseeruddin Shah. Later, they rebranded the company as Mirchi Movies and produced Hindi and Tamil movies such as Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors (2008) Velli Thirai (2008) Aloo Chaat (2009) and With Love, Delhi! (2011) [3]

In February 2014, Vineet Jain of The Times Group re-established the company as Junglee Pictures.[4] The newly formed company's first film release came the following year with Dil Dhadakne Do, a family drama directed by Zoya Akhtar, which featured an ensemble cast headlined by Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar.[5] A significant portion of the film was photographed in the Pullmantur Cruises ship MS Sovereign.[6] The film received positive reviews for its performances and direction, but received criticism for its running time and climax.[7] It earned ₹145 crores against a budget of ₹83 crores.[8]

Meghna Gulzar has directed two films for the company, Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2018)

The company's second film release came in the same year with Bangistan (2015), a comedy directed by Karan Anshuman, and starring Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat.[9] Keen to "tell stories that were inspired by real incidents",[2] Junglee Pictures next produced Talvar, a partly fictional retelling of the 2008 Noida double murder case. Starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi and Sohum Shah, the film was directed by Meghna Gulzar and penned by Vishal Bhardwaj.[10][11] Bhardwaj has said that his screenplay was influenced by the Rashomon effect (in which the same event is given different interpretations by the individuals involved).[12] Rajeev Masand termed the film a "gripping, then baffling, and ultimately disturbing account" of the murder, "deliberately unsentimental and melodrama-free".[13] Joe Leydon of Variety called the film's screenplay "solidly constructed" and its narrative "satisfyingly brisk".[14] Talvar won two awards each at the National Film Awards and the Filmfare Award ceremonies, including the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for Bhardwaj at the former.[15][16]

In 2017, the company produced the romantic comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi, directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and written by Nitesh Tiwari and Shreyas Jain. It starred Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao and tells the story of a love triangle involving a headstrong young woman living in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.[17][18] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times praised the film for effectively capturing "the flavour of small-town India".[19] It emerged as a sleeper hit.[20] At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, the film won Best Director for Tiwari and Best Supporting Actor for Rao.[21]

Junglee Pictures had two film releases in 2018. The spy film Raazi marked their second collaboration with Meghna Gulzar.[22][23] Starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, the film is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat, which was inspired by real events of a Kashmiri spy who married a Pakistani policeman prior to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[24][25] The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films featuring a female protagonist.[26] The company's second film release that year came with Badhaai Ho, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, and Sanya Malhotra, which is about a middle-aged couple who get pregnant much to the disappointment of their adult son.[27][28][29][30][31] Both Raazi and Badhaai Ho gained critical acclaim and rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2018.[32][33] The latter earned over ₹221 crores to emerge as the company's biggest commercial success.[34][35] Both films also won several awards at the 64th Filmfare Awards, with Raazi winning a leading five, including Best Film and Best Director for Gulzar.[36]

The company's sole film release of 2019 came with Chuck Russell's Junglee, an adventure film starring Vidyut Jammwal, which performed poorly at the box office.[37] Future projects of the company include Vishal Bhardwaj's crime film based on the murder of Pradyuman Thakur.[38] Junglee Pictures will also produce an as-yet untitled web series adapted from Arnab Ray's novel The Mahabharata Murders.[39][40]

In March 2020, Junglee Pictures announced spiritual sequel of Badhaai Ho, titled Badhaai Do starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar. On 11 February 2022, Badhaai Do released in theatres to critical acclaim.

Their ninth film, Doctor G is slated for release on 14 October 2022. It is a campus medical comedy film directed by Anubhuti Kashyap (in her directorial debut). It stars Ayushmann Khurrana (third collaboration with actor) and Rakul Preet Singh

Their tenth film,Babli Bouncer, was released on 23 September 2022. It is a comedy-drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. The film stars Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead role, marking her first collaboration with the production house.

In May 2023, Junglee Pictures announced their upcoming film Ulajh, directed by Sudhanshu Saria. The film stars Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, and Roshan Mathew, and is set in the world of Indian Foreign Services. The film was released on 2 August 2024.[41]

In June 2024, Junglee Pictures, under the name of Maverik Movies Pvt Ltd, announced their upcoming film Varaaham, directed by Sanal V Devan. The cast includes Suresh Gopi, Suraj Venjaramoodu,Gautham Vasudev Menon, Navya Nair, and Prachi Tehlan, among others.[42]

In September 2024, the company announced their upcoming film Dosa King, directed by T. J. Gnanavel.[43]

Filmography

Ayushmann Khurrana has collaborated with Junglee Pictures on three projects
Rajkumar Rao has played leading role in two films
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Title Year Director Co-producer Cast Notes
Being Cyrus 2005 Homi Adajania Miracle Cinefilms
Serendipity Films 		Saif Ali Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia Produced under "Times Infotainment Media Ltd"
Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors 2008 Lucky Kohli & Rajesh Bajaj Sarika, Zain Khan, Swini Khara,Jackie Shroff Produced under "Mirchi Movies Ltd"
Velli Thirai 2008 Viji Duet Movies

Prakash Raj Production

Prithviraj Sukumaran,Prakash Raj, Gopika Tamil film
Aloo Chaat 2009 Robbie Grewal Aftab Shivdasani, Aamna Sharif, Linda Arsenio
Aashiqui.in 2011 Shankhadeep Shetia Audio Video Productions Ishaan Singh Manhas Distribution only
Dear Friend Hitler 2011 Rakesh Ranjan Kumar Amrapali Media Vision Raghubir Yadav, Neha Dhupia, Aman Verma
With Love, Delhi! 2011 Nikhil Singh Redmat Reves Films Pariva Pranati, Tom Alter
Shortcut Romeo 2013 Susi Ganesan Susi Ganesan Production Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ameesha Patel, Puja Gupta
Dil Dhadakne Do 2015 Zoya Akhtar Excel Entertainment Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar First film to be produced through Junglee Pictures
Bangistan 2015 Karan Anshuman Riteish Deshmukh, Pulkit Samrat
Talvar 2015 Meghna Gulzar VB Pictures Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Sohum Shah
Bareilly Ki Barfi 2017 Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari BR Chopra Films Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon, Rajkummar Rao
Raazi 2018 Meghna Gulzar Dharma Productions Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal
Badhaai Ho 2018 Amit Sharma Chrome Pictures Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Sanya Malhotra
Junglee 2019 Chuck Russell Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhat
Badhaai Do 2022 Harshavardhan Kulkarni Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar
Doctor G 2022 Anubhuti Kashyap Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh
Babli Bouncer 2022 Madhur Bhandarkar Star Studios Tamannaah
Ulajh 2024 Sudhanshu Saria Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah

References

  1. ^ "Disney's Amrita Pandey joins Junglee Pictures and Times Studios Originals as CEO". The Economic Times. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b Kotwani, Hiren (12 June 2018). "'We want to tell entertaining stories': Priti Shahani of Junglee Pictures". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  3. ^ Editorial, BOC (22 January 2009). "Mirchi Movies to roll seven films, enters South". Business Of Cinema. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Junglee Pictures Limited". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  5. ^ Kotwani, Hiren (28 March 2017). "Zoya Akhtar's friends eagerly awaiting 'Dil Dhadakne Do' trailer". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  6. ^ Kulkarni, Onkar (4 June 2015). "Behind The Scenes: What happened when Dil Dhadakne Do ship Pullmantur broke down?". Dainik Bhaskar. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Dil Dhadakne Do has a fantastic weekend". Filmfare. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Dil Dhadakne Do". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  9. ^ "First look of Riteish Deshmukh's 'Bangistan' is out". 12 August 2015 – via The Economic Times.
  10. ^ "Neeraj Kabi: Films like Talvar make people think - Times of India". The Times of India.
  11. ^ KBR, Upala (13 September 2015). "Meghna Gulzar: Making 'Talvar' was hugely draining!". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Making 'Talvar' was a painful journey: Vishal Bhardwaj". The Indian Express. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  13. ^ Masand, Rajeev (2 October 2015). "The Justice League". RajeevMasand.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  14. ^ Laydon, Joe (17 September 2018). "Toronto Film Review: 'Guilty'". Variety. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  15. ^ "63rd National Film Awards for 2015" (PDF). 7 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Full list of winners of the 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards". Filmfare. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  17. ^ "After 'Bareilly Ki Barfi', Junglee Pictures offers an interesting lineup with 'Raazi' and 'Junglee' - Times of India". The Times of India.
  18. ^ "Kriti Sanon in a never-seen-before character - 'Bareilly Ki Barfi': Interesting facts about the film - The Times of India". The Times of India.
  19. ^ "Bareilly Ki Barfi movie review: A spicy Rajkummar Rao balances Ayushmann's sweetness". Hindustan Times.
  20. ^ "Bareilly Ki Barfi is the season's sleeper hit". Mumbai Mirror. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Filmfare Award 2018 Winners". Filmfare. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
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  23. ^ "Junglee Pictures' Raazi Hits Bullseye". 22 May 2018.
  24. ^ "That spy princess!". The Hindu. 3 May 2008. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Calling Sehmat – Penguin India". Penguin India. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Top Fifteen Films Driven By Female Leads". Box Office India. 23 May 2018. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Badhaai Ho, Sanya Malhotra. Her New Film Is With Ayushmann Khurrana".
  28. ^ "Sanya Malhotra to star opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in 'Badhaai Ho' - Times of India ►". The Times of India.
  29. ^ "Badhaai Ho: Ayushmann Khurrana's next to go on floors in January, 2018". 24 November 2017.
  30. ^ "'Badhaai Ho': The Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra starrer wraps up its first schedule in Mumbai - Movies to look forward to - The Times of India". The Times of India.
  31. ^ "Ayushmann Khurrana to star in Junglee Pictures' 'Badhaai Ho' - Times of India". The Times of India.
  32. ^ "Flashback 2018: How Raazi, Stree, AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho defied the box-office rules and emerged victorious". Times Now. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Worldwide 2018: Simmba 3rd - Zero 10th - 2.0 (Hindi) 5th". Box Office India. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  34. ^ "Badhaai Ho Box Office collection till Now – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
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  36. ^ "Winners of the 64th Vimal Filmfare Awards 2019". Filmfare. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  37. ^ "Junglee vs Kesari vs Luka Chuppi vs Total Dhamaal vs Badla box office: One flop as others dominate". Zee Business. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  38. ^ Scroll Staff. "Vishal Bhardwaj and Junglee Pictures to make 'Talvar' sequel on the Gurugram school murder".
  39. ^ "Junglee Pictures enters digital space with an adaptation of Arnab Ray's novel - Mumbai Mirror -".
  40. ^ "Raazi co-producer Junglee Pictures to adapt The Mahabharata Murders for digital debut; Srijit Mukherji will helm web series".
  41. ^ "Ulajh first look: Janhvi Kapoor to headline 'patriotic thriller'". The Indian Express. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  42. ^ Features, C. E. (20 June 2024). "First look of Suresh Gopi's Varaaham to be out on this date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  43. ^ The Hindu Bureau (10 September 2024). "TJ Gnanavel to helm 'Dosa King' after Rajinikanth-starrer 'Vettaiyan'". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 September 2024.